On Saturday, Americans gathered by the tens of thousands — media reports generally agree on close to 300,000 in all — to reaffirm their belief in the founding principles of their nation and to celebrate the role that faith always has played in the strength and growth of the United States.
The gathering on the The Mall in Washington, D.C., sprawling outward from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, was derided by race baiters such as the Rev. Al Sharpton and left wing media elites who are strangely uncomfortable about a patriotic display on the site of Martin Luther King’s historic 1963 speech.
How is an event called “Restoring Honor” interpreted as a catalyst for racial division? Quite to the contrary, the multi-denominational event generated no violence or unrest. The mass assembly organized by Fox News host Glenn Beck had everything to do with Americans who want to be clear about what they stand for, and who want to make sure the Washington political establishment gets the message. Wasn’t King doing the same thing 47 years ago?
On Monday, off the radar, Americans gathered by the tens — about 30 in all — to reaffirm their frustrations about the federal government’s reckless agenda. A gathering of mostly retired seniors in Hinsdale, Ill., assembled for a midday town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Judy Biggert (R-13).
There was no violence or unrest at the Biggert town hall, either, only the occasional rattling of a walker or a complaint that someone could not hear. But the message was the same as the one 300,000 delivered on Saturday. Wake up. Rise up. A few of the dozen or so who asked questions expressed outrage toward the conduct of our government, specifically President Obama, and its disregard for the will of the people. (One man said he’d traveled to Washington to join the crowds on The Mall).
“This is why I wanted to hear from you,” said Biggert, 73, a six-term House member. “(Growing opposition) doesn’t seem to bother him.”
Remarkably, even 300,000 on The Mall and well-informed voices at town halls don’t seem to pierce the thick walls surrounding 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or the thick skulls of those who sow the seeds of racial division. Let no one be mistaken, the Obama machine will stoke racial tension if his agenda continues to be threatened. (And the elite media will aid and abet. Numerous media outlets made a point of characterizing the Mall rally as “overwhelmingly white.”).
The bitter Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Washington, D.C., Congressional delegate, dismissed the “Restoring Honor” crowd as a meaningless demonstration. “Glenn Beck’s march will change nothing,” Norton said. “Too bad he doesn’t have a message worthy of the place.”
Barack Obama was equally dismissive in his televised interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, saying, “it’s not surprising that somebody like a Mr. Beck is able to stir up a certain portion of the country.”
Quite a swift brush-off from a man whose approval rating is at 45% in two major polls. As Obama’s approval numbers teeter on the brink (his disapproval average is 48%), falling in step with unemployment numbers and declining stock prices, it’s not surprising that somebody like a Mr. Obama (or a Mr. Sharpton, or a Ms. Norton) does not hide his contempt for that “certain portion”. Why, they’re obviously just a throng of angry white people who think they know better than the Transformational One and his visionaries.
“Liberalism under siege is an ugly sight indeed,” wrote columnist Charles Krauthammer, noting that Obama’s incredulous backers respond to opposition on serious domestic issues with hints that the restless masses are unruly, unworthy and unimportant. Pick a topic: Government entitlements such as ObamaCare; Arizona’s immigration wars; gay marriage restored to legal status by an activist judge; or the Ground Zero Islamic mosque.
“Note what connects these issues,” Krauthammer continued. “In every one, liberals have lost the argument in the court of public opinion. … It is a measure of the corruption of liberal thought and the collapse of its self-confidence that, finding itself so widely repudiated, it resorts reflexively to the cheapest race-baiting.”
Audacity, indeed.